Featured News

In the winter 2015 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association, the CDA published detailed information about the requirement for dentists to either enroll in or opt out of Medicare before June 1, 2015. Since then, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made some updates in regard to the opt-in/opt-out deadlines and in regard to patients who use Medicare Advantage plans.

With the addition of the adult dental benefit, there seems to be some confusion in the dental community about when a Medicaid patient may be charged out-of-pocket for dental services. Prior to the addition of a comprehensive adult dental benefit, some dentists were collecting out-of-pocket payments from adult Medicaid patients, as nearly all dental benefits were not covered by Medicaid for this patient population. It is important to note that the addition of adult dental benefits in Medicaid changes the permissibility of this practice.

The Colorado Medicaid Dental Program continues to evolve based on feedback from providers. Recently of note, the Division for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) program for disabled adults will be incorporated into the Colorado Medicaid Dental Program in July 2015, the state implemented changes to the Adult Dental Services Rule, and DentaQuest released an updated office reference manual (ORM). Read below for details and additional updates.

The CDA’s governing body convenes each year at the Annual Session. The House of Delegates votes on resolutions that impact the CDA and its membership. To read this year’s resolutions and to view the proposed budget for 2015/2016, click here. Among the resolutions is one brought forth by the CDA Finance Council to increase member dues by $34 per active member. The dues amount for other membership categories will reflect the adjustment per the CDA Bylaws. Click here to read 09-15-BA.

The Department of Health and Human Services released its final Public Health Service recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking water to prevent tooth decay. The recommended ratio of fluoride to water is 0.7 parts per million (ppm), which results from years of scientific analysis of the amount of fluoride people receive from all sources. This recommendation replaces the previous recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 ppm issued in 1962.

The Colorado state legislature meets from mid-January until mid-May each year. During this time, the CDA is present daily at the Capitol advocating on your behalf. This year, the CDA is involved in tracking more than 30 bills with potential impacts on the dental profession. Primary bills of interest and their current status include:

According to a February Colorado Health Institute (CHI) report, eight of Colorado’s 64 counties are “dental deserts,” meaning they are without a licensed dentist, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or a Community-Based Dental Clinic (CBDC). It’s important, however, to point out that these eight counties only account for 1% of the total state population. But nonetheless, the need for access to quality dental care for this underserved population is real and urgent. That’s why the CDA, through its new Community Dental Health Program (CDHP), has stepped up to lead this effort to improve access-to-care issues statewide.

As 2015 starts to settle in, we look at those pesky New Year’s resolutions and rebalance our life goals, both personal and financial. It’s one thing to rebalance your investment portfolios—but why stop there? I think it’s time and imperative to rebalance another equation that has morphed for me and my colleagues in dentistry over the past 10 years.

The dental world balance I’m referring to is significantly more challenging than developing a balanced occlusion on your next denture case or balancing your office check book. The equation in need of balance involves four factors—business employers, dental insurance companies, dentists and patients. All are interchangeable and dynamic within the balanced equation. All are ever-changing models that need to be rebalanced to regain equilibrium—or what I envision as an “exponential epiphany” to gain a win to the fourth power.

This takes collaboration, initiative and willingness to admit the errors of the past. This is not a request for all the groups to hold hands in a circle and sing “Kumbaya,” but ego and competition must stay in the parking lot for it to work. Let me highlight the issues I think the four groups must address for future progress.

The sun has set on the review of our Dental Practice Act and it will next be revisited in 2025. With that milestone behind us, you might be thinking that it’s time for the CDA to go into hibernation, at least for legislative issues—however, if you really believe that, then this is a great time to read a little deeper into this issue of the journal.